Up 38% in August, is the Mesoblast share price a buy?

The Mesoblast Limited (ASX: MSB) share price outperformed in August. Shares in the Aussie biotech are up 37.9% in the space of a month after a busy August earnings season. 

Why is the Mesoblast share price rocketing higher?

August was full of market-moving announcements from Mesoblast.

The ASX biotech share plummeted 37.0% in the space of 2 days after a US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) briefing note on one of its products.

The US regulator noted concerns of Mesoblast's remestemcel-L product candidate as a treatment for pediatric steroid-resistant acute graft versus host diseases.

Mesoblast had a meeting with the US Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee (ODAC) last month as part of its path towards FDA approval.

Those concerns saw the Mesoblast share price crash lower ahead of the meeting before rebounding strongly.

In fact, just days later, the ODAC voted in favour of approving the drug product. Investors piled back into the stock and sent the biotech share soaring to a new 52-week high.

Is it too late to buy Mesoblast?

I think you have to tolerate some risk to invest in ASX biotech shares. The nature of their business can result in volatile share price movements.

The Mesoblast share price closed 37.9% higher in August with a market capitalisation of $3.1 billion.

It's important to remember that we're investing for the long-term here. I think Mesoblast ticks a lot of boxes as a company with a strong product pipeline and promising future earnings.

There will be more volatility over a long enough time horizon. However, it's important to drown out the noise and focus on the potential upside.

Are there other ASX biotech shares to buy?

CSL Limited (ASX: CSL) has proven just how successful Aussie biotech companies can be. Mesoblast has a long way to go before its anywhere near that stratosphere but the early signs are promising.

I'd also consider Polynovo Ltd (ASX: PNV) as a solid buy right now. Polynovo is another ASX biotech share with significant research and development activities and a huge addressable market.